More is Less and Less is More

It’s not easy being alive at a time when there is so much information available. It would seem that the more you know, the more sure you can be. But I’m coming to realise that the more I know, the less I truly know! Everyone threatens to share a research paper that corroborates their biases these days. In fact, it's gotten so bad that two different research papers often prove two completely opposing "truths". Even from classroom to classroom, the assumptions we approach a subject with change. I wouldn't blame you for thinking I've lost my mind but hear me out. I have enough and more instances of just not being sure with more information I'm given!

Let's turn the hands on the clock back for a minute. I was inflicted with restless leg syndrome (RLS) young. For those of you unaware of what RLS is, it's a condition marked by itching, aching or throbbing in the leg. The only oasis of relief around is movement, giving the sensation of shaking off the symptoms from your body. It was hard to diagnose for my paediatrician because a 6-year-old me really didn’t have the vocabulary to explain the reason my leg bobbed up and down throughout the day. As a result, though I had restless leg syndrome very early, I had no idea until very recently. My poor mother believed the paediatrician when he said I had ADHD, a forward diagnosis for the time.

Around the same era, my father insisted that I drink a glass of milk every morning before school. He claimed it would make me stronger and smarter. But honestly, it only ever made me feel uneasy. Nonetheless, I gritted my teeth and downed that glass morning after morning. I didn't like the way it made me feel but I didn't like the way a good yelling from my father made me feel either. Honestly, I think the queasiness was easier to stomach at the time. Many years later, my father found out most Indians are lactose intolerant, he included. The next thing I know, he's cautioning me about how, when I have children, I should abstain from giving them a daily glass of milk.

Fast forward to my beginning years as an adult. I started college, wide-eyed and eager to finally figure this world out. I walked into my ethics class, a compulsory subject at the time, and got my pen ready to take down life's truths. The teacher starts his class, talking about the many ways we could all benefit if we just did a few things differently. He spoke in absolutes, telling us about times when people were more equitable, quoting examples like Robert Owen. Though he didn't explicitly say it, he implied that a fair world is one where most people have equal opportunity. I walked into my economics class that exact same day. My economics teacher went on and on about how if demand rises, prices rise, a "beautiful relationship" as he called it. Though he didn't say one should exploit people's purchasing ability, he implied that, in a fair world, some people just can't get the things others can. Even the definitions of fairness in the same institution varied widely.

Then there were friends. Though I took what most of my friends said with a pinch of salt, there were some conversations just too exciting to not get passionate over. I played the role of the instigator in most jovial debates, substantiating both sides of the argument between two friends. This is when it truly hit me, the more you know, the more you can argue for both sides. The more I argued for both sides, the more I learnt. The more I learnt, the more unsure I was. Today, I approach everything with an eager curiosity, with no intention to know but simply learn. And there's a big difference between "knowing" and "learning". I believe being in a constant state of learning is where it's at.